The monument marks the graves of Josephina van Aefferden, a Catholic noblewoman, and her husband, Colonel Jacobus van Gorkum, a Protestant.
Married in 1842, they were together for 38 years before Jacobus died in 1880.
Cemetery rules at the time dictated that Catholics and Protestants could not be buried in the same section.
When Josephina died in 1888, she chose to be buried as close to him as possible, on the other side of the dividing wall.
Their graves are connected by two carved arms and hands that clasp across the wall, allowing them to be reunited in death.
CartographerMotor598 on
I believe, if memory of a Billy Connolly documentary is correct, that this is a man and wife separated by religion (Catholic/protestant) Buried in different graveyards of course, but joined forever. Quite a lovely statement I think
SoulBrotherSix67 on
Yes, that’s in the Dutch city Roermond.
BRD73 on
Oh, that’s so touching and sweet.
watrbar on
Beautiful story. They’re together again.
Pithecanthropus88 on
Fucking religion.
rover_G on
Why do they look like little Kim Jung Un hands?
expatronis on
Yeah, I feel like I had to fight these in some Castlevania game.
FroggyTheFr on
> When Josephina died in 1888, she chose to be buried as close to him as possible, on the other side of the dividing wall.
I somehow presume she chose her burial location before she died…
ContextDramatic1003 on
This is wild but in a really poetic way. u gotta love how they made sure their story was told without saying a single word. she was a noblewoman and he was a colonel and their marriage was a huge scandal back then
Due_Choice_8586 on
Deadass thought this was just a cool statue at first but the backstory is heavy. u’re looking at a literal protest against religious rules from the 1880s that tried to keep a husband and wife apart even in death. the fact that she refused to be in her family’s fancy tomb just to be near him on the other side of a brick wall is a whole vibe. love really does find a way fr.
Mission_Cobbler1184 on
U’ve got these two people who loved each other so much they found a loophole in the cemetery rules just to stay connected
15 Comments
Even death does not do us part 👍
A Protestant and a Catholic iirc
The monument marks the graves of Josephina van Aefferden, a Catholic noblewoman, and her husband, Colonel Jacobus van Gorkum, a Protestant.
Married in 1842, they were together for 38 years before Jacobus died in 1880.
Cemetery rules at the time dictated that Catholics and Protestants could not be buried in the same section.
When Josephina died in 1888, she chose to be buried as close to him as possible, on the other side of the dividing wall.
Their graves are connected by two carved arms and hands that clasp across the wall, allowing them to be reunited in death.
I believe, if memory of a Billy Connolly documentary is correct, that this is a man and wife separated by religion (Catholic/protestant) Buried in different graveyards of course, but joined forever. Quite a lovely statement I think
Yes, that’s in the Dutch city Roermond.
Oh, that’s so touching and sweet.
Beautiful story. They’re together again.
Fucking religion.
Why do they look like little Kim Jung Un hands?
Yeah, I feel like I had to fight these in some Castlevania game.
> When Josephina died in 1888, she chose to be buried as close to him as possible, on the other side of the dividing wall.
I somehow presume she chose her burial location before she died…
This is wild but in a really poetic way. u gotta love how they made sure their story was told without saying a single word. she was a noblewoman and he was a colonel and their marriage was a huge scandal back then
Deadass thought this was just a cool statue at first but the backstory is heavy. u’re looking at a literal protest against religious rules from the 1880s that tried to keep a husband and wife apart even in death. the fact that she refused to be in her family’s fancy tomb just to be near him on the other side of a brick wall is a whole vibe. love really does find a way fr.
U’ve got these two people who loved each other so much they found a loophole in the cemetery rules just to stay connected
This looks like an album cover